Automobiles (Part 1)

From transportation to aesthetics, vehicles make our world more interesting. All of us have either
driven a vehicle before, seen one, or traveled in one before. Billions of people live on this Earth, and
we have many interests in our diverse, complicated lives. From the 19th century to the modern era of
the 21st century, cars changed the cultures of the world. They are part of the era of modernization.
Vehicles have broken down barriers to allow people to travel into many areas in a short span of time.
Once upon a time, cars ran mostly on gasoline, natural gas, or diesel. Today, cars can run on electrical
power, hydrogen, solar, and vegetable oil. There are even self-propelled cars today. Insurance,
computerized devices, and car repair shops deal with vehicle issues all of the time. One of the greatest
joys in the world is to drive a car to a great destination where you can relax and have fun. From the
modern car in 1886, which was created by German inventor Karl Benz, to the futuristic cars of the
21st century, people of every age are fans of them. The irony is that cars are more complex with
lighting and other devices, but they are easier to drive today than back in the day. The balance is that
we enjoy cars, and we use policies that help maintain roads, land use, and regulate congestion at the
same time. About one billion cars are in use worldwide.
 The Early Era
The history of automobiles consists of a long one. Vehicles have existed for centuries. Even thousands
of years ago, there were wagons and chariots that looked similar to automobiles later on. This history
is divided into different eras. They are times when the use of propulsion was different during the early
days of vehicle usage and the later period defined by styling, size, and utility preferences. Back
centuries ago, people wanted to find a reliable portable power unit to propel the vehicle. Back then,
there were steam powered wheeled vehicles. Ferdinand Verbiest was a member of a Jesuit mission in
China. He built a steam powered vehicle around 1672. He created it as a toy for the Kangxi Emperor.
It was in a small scale and could not carry a driver. It could possibly be the first working steam
powered vehicle (or automobile). Steam-powered, self-propelled vehicles large enough to transport
people and cargo were first devised during the late 18th century. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot demonstrated
his fardier à vapeur ("steam dray"), an experimental steam-driven artillery tractor, in 1770 and 1771.
As Cugnot's design proved to be impractical, his invention was not developed in his native France.
The center of innovation shifted to Great Britain.

By 1784, William Murdoch had built a working model of a steam carriage in Redruth, and in 1801
Richard Trevithick was running a full-sized vehicle on the roads in Camborne. The first automobile
patent in the United States was granted to Oliver Evans in 1789. By the 1800’s, times have changed.
Some people tried to make steam powered vehicles more accessible with hard breaks, multispeed
transmissions, and better steering came about. Some vehicles were commercially successful until the
backlash against large vehicles came about. The United Kingdom in 1865 passed the Locomotive Act
that required many self-propelled vehicles on public roads to be preceded by a man on foot waving a
red flag and blowing a horn. This effectively halted road auto development in the UK for most of the
rest of the 19th century; inventors and engineers shifted their efforts to improvements in railway
locomotives. The law was not repealed until 1896, although the need for the red flag was removed in
1878.

The Change
In 1816, a professor at Prague Polytechic named Josef Bozek created an oil fired steam car. Walter
Hancock (a builder and operator of London steam buses) in 1838 built a 2 seated car phaeton. In
1867, Canadian jeweler Henry Seth Taylor demonstrated his 4 wheeled steam buggy at the Stanstead
Fair in Stanstead, Quebec, and again the following year. The basis of the buggy was a high wheeled
carriage with bracing to support a two cylinder steam engine mounted on the floor. He started to
build it in 1865. One of the first modern day automobiles was produced in 1873 by Frenchman
Amedee Boliee in Le Mans, who built the self-propelled steam road vehicles to transport groups of
passengers. The first carriage-sized automobile suitable for use on existing wagon roads in the United
States was a steam-powered vehicle invented in 1871 by Dr. J.W. Carhart, a minister of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, in Racine, Wisconsin. As a result, the device induced the state of Wisconsin in
1875 offered a $10,000 award to the first to produce a practical substitute for the use of horses and
other animals. They wanted the machines to go faster than 5 miles per hour over a 200 mile course.
The offer led to the first city to city automobile race in America. It started on July 16, 1878 in Green
Bay, Wisconsin and ending in Madison, Wisconsin via Appleton, Oshkosh, Waupun, Watertown,
Fort Atkinson, and Janesville. Seven vehicles only registered. Two of them started to compete. The
entrees came from Green Bay and Oshkosh. The vehicle from Green Bay was faster, but it broke
down before completing the race. The Oshkosh finished the 201-mile (323 km) course in 33 hours
and 27 minutes, and posted an average speed of six miles per hour. In 1879, the legislature awarded
half the prize. By 1828, Anyos Jedlik (who was a Hungarian man) invented an early electric motor. It
powered a car. By 1834, the Bermont blacksmith Thomas Davenport invented the first American DC
electric motor. He installed his motor in a small model car which he operated on a short circular
track. In 1835, Professor Sibrandus Stratingh of Groningen, the Netherlands and his assistant
Christopher Becker created a small-scale electrical car, powered by non-rechargeable primary cells. In
1838, Scotsman Robert Davidson built an electric locomotive that attained a speed of 4 miles per
hour (6 km/h). In England, a patent was granted in 1840 for the use of tracks as conductors of
electric current, and similar American patents were issued to Lilley and Colten in 1847.

Sources point to different creations as the first electric car. Between 1832 and 1839 (the exact year is
uncertain), Robert Anderson of Scotland invented a crude electric carriage, powered by non-
rechargeable primary cells. In November 1881, French inventor Gustave Trouvé demonstrated a
working three-wheeled car powered by electricity at the International Exposition of Electricity, Paris.
English inventor Thomas Parker, who was responsible for innovations such as electrifying the London
Underground, overhead tramways in Liverpool and Birmingham, and the smokeless fuel coalite, built
the first production electric car in London in 1884, using his own specially designed high-capacity
rechargeable batteries. Some believe that the Flocken Elektrowagen of 1888 by the German inventor
Andreas Flocken invented the first, true electric car. Electric cars were popular in the late 19th century
and early 20th century. Electricity was used for automobiles a lot. Gasoline cars were limited back
then. This changed with the advances in the internal combustion technology. Companies like the
Food Motor Company used gasoline cars with more range, quicker refueling times, and a growing
petroleum infrastructure (along with the mass production of gasoline vehicles) to advance more cars.
Electric cars started to decline. They were nearly gone in the 1930’s. Electric cars made a huge
comeback by the 1990’s and the 21st century because of the environmental impact of gasoline cars,
higher gasoline prices, improvements in battery technology, and debates about peak oil. Early attempts
at making and using internal combustion engines were hampered by the lack of suitable fuels,
particularly liquids, therefore the earliest engines used gas mixtures. Many early experiments used
gases. That is why by 1806, the Swiss engineer François Isaac de Rivaz built an engine powered by the
internal combustion of a hydrogen and oxygen mixture. In 1826, the Englishman Samuel Brown
tested his hydrogen fueled internal combustion engine by using it to propel a vehicle up Shooter’s Hill
in south-east London. The Belgian born Etienne Lenoir’s Hippomobile with a hydrogen gas fueled
one cylinder internal combustion engine made a test drive from Paris to Jonville le Pont in 1860. It
covered 9 km. in about 3 hours. A later version used coal gas. A Delamare-Deboutteville vehicle was
patented and trialed in 1884.

About 1870, in Vienna, Austria (then the Austro-Hungarian Empire), inventor Siegfried Marcus put a
liquid-fueled internal combustion engine on a simple handcart which made him the first man to
propel a vehicle by means of gasoline. Today, this car is known as "the first Marcus car." In 1883,
Marcus secured a German patent for a low-voltage ignition system of the magneto type; this was his
only automotive patent. This design was used for all further engines, and the four-seat "second Marcus
car" of 1888/89. This ignition, in conjunction with the "rotating-brush carburetor", made the second
car's design very innovative. His second car is on display at the Technical Museum in Vienna. During
his lifetime, he was honored as the originator of the motorcar but his place in history was all but
erased by the Nazis during World War II. Because Marcus was of Jewish descent, the Nazi propaganda
office ordered his work to be destroyed, his name expunged from future textbooks, and his public
memorials removed, giving credit instead to Karl Benz. Many people acknowledge that that the first
really practical automobiles with petrol/gasoline-powered internal combustion engines were
completed almost simultaneously by several German inventors working independently: Karl Benz
built his first automobile in 1885 in Mannheim. Benz was granted a patent for his automobile on
January 29, 1886, and began the first production of automobiles in 1888, after Bertha Benz, his wife,
had proved – with the first long-distance trip in August 1888, from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back
– that the horseless coach was capable of extended travel. Since 2008, a Bertha Benz Memorial Route
commemorates this event.

Soon after, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Stuttgart in 1889 designed a vehicle from
scratch to be an automobile, rather than a horse-drawn carriage fitted with an engine. They also are
usually credited with invention of the first motorcycle in 1886, but Italy's Enrico Bernardi of the
University of Padua, in 1882, patented a 0.024 horsepower (17.9 W) 122 cc (7.4 cu in) one-cylinder
petrol motor, fitting it into his son's tricycle, making it at least a candidate for the first automobile and
first motorcycle;. Bernardi enlarged the tricycle in 1892 to carry two adults.

The first four-wheeled petrol-driven automobile in Britain was built in Walthamstow by Frederick
Bremer in 1892. Another was made in Birmingham in 1895 by Frederick William Lanchester, who
also patented the disc brake. The first electric starter was installed on an Arnold, an adaptation of the
Benz Velo, built in Kent between 1895 and 1898. George F. Foss of Sherbrooke, Quebec built a
single-cylinder gasoline car in 1896 which he drove for 4 years, ignoring city officials' warnings of
arrest for his "mad antics.” In all the turmoil, many early pioneers are nearly forgotten. In 1891, John
William Lambert built a three-wheeler in Ohio City, Ohio, which was destroyed in a fire the same
year, while Henry Nadig constructed a four-wheeler in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is likely they were
not the only ones.
 Innovations
A new car era came about by the late 19th and early 20th century. The American George B. Selden
filed for a patent on May 8, 1879. His application included the engine and the 4 wheeled car. Selden
filed a series of amendments to his application which stretched out the legal process. This resulted in
a delay of 16 years before the patent did more to hinder than encourage development of autos in the
United States. Selden licensed his patent to most major American automakers, collecting a fee on
every car they produced. The first production of automobiles was done by Karl Benz in 1886 at
Germany. It was under license in France by Emile Roger. There were numerous others including
tricycle builders Rudolf Egg, Edward Butler, and Leon Bolee. Bollée, using a 650 cc (40 cu in) engine
of his own design, enabled his driver, Jamin, to average 45 kilometres per hour (28.0 mph) in the
1897 Paris-Tourville rally. By 1900, mass production of automobiles had begun in France and the
United States. The first company that was created to build automobiles exclusively was Panhard et
Levassor in France. It introduced the first four cylinder engine. It was formed in 1889. Panhard et
Levassor was quickly followed by Puegeot 2 years later. By the start of the 20th century, the
automobile industry started to take off in Western Europe. 30,204 cars were produced in the region
by 1903. This represented 48.8% of the world automobile production in that year.

In America, brothers Charles and Frank Duryea created the Duryea Motor Wagon Company in 1893.
This was the first automobile manufacturing company. The Autocar Company was created in 1897
with innovations still in use. It remains the oldest operation motor vehicle manufacturer in the
Untied States. Yet, it was Ransom E. Olds and his Olds Motor Vehicle Company (or called
Oldsmobile later) that dominated that era with the introduction of the Oldsmobile Curved Dash. It
was on its own production line in 1901. The Thomas B. Jeffrey Company formed the world’s second
mass mass-produced automobile, and 1,500 Ramblers were built and sold in its first year, representing
one-sixth of all existing motorcars in the United States at the time. Within a year, Cadillac (formed
from the Henry Ford Company), Winton, and Ford were also producing cars in the thousands. The
Studebaker brothers, having become the world's leading manufacturers of horse-drawn vehicles, made
a transition to electric automobiles in 1902, and gasoline engines in 1904. They continued to build
horse-drawn vehicles until 1919. The first motor in Central Europe was produced by the Austrian-
Hungarian company called Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau (later renamed to Tatra in today's Czech
Republic) in 1897, the Präsident automobile. In 1898, Louis Renault had the De Dion-Bouton
modified, with fixed drive shaft and differential making it the first possible hot rod in history.

Renault and his brothers were part of the car industry. There was massive innovation during the early
1900’s. There were changes in basic vehicle architecture, body styles, and controls. Many veteran cars
used a tiller instead of a wheel for steering. By 1903, Rambler standardized parts on the steering
wheel. It moved the drive’s position to the left hand side of the vehicle. Chain drive was dominant
over the drive shaft, and closed bodies were extremely rare. Renault introduced drum brakes in 1902.
In 1903, the Dutch designer Jacobus Spijker built the first four wheel drive racing car. It was never
competed, and it would be 1965 and the Jensen FF before four wheel drive was used on a production
car. After a few years, new technologies were used by hundreds of producers worldwide. Steam,
electricity, and petrol gasoline powered cars competed for decades. By the 1910’s, petrol/gasoline and
international combustion engines were dominant in the car industry. Dual- and even quad-engine
cars were designed, and engine displacement ranged to more than a dozen liters. Many modern
advances, including gas/electric hybrids, multi-valve engines, overhead camshafts, and four-wheel
drive, were attempted, and discarded at this time. The oil industry grew including the gasoline
industry. They replaced coal oil, kerosene, vegetable and animal oils. Music was used in car culture.
The veteran era has cars introduced as novelties not in a high level of usage by the public yet. Car
breakdown was common.

Fuel was difficult to get. Major breakthroughs in proving the usefulness of the automobile came with
the historic long-distance drive of Bertha Benz in 1888, when she traveled more than 80 kilometres
(50 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, to make people aware of the potential of the vehicles her
husband, Karl Benz, manufactured, and after Horatio Nelson Jackson's successful transcontinental
drive across the United States in 1903. Lots of older cars made were made with an assembly line
which would help mass produce cars which some company's still use today because it's more efficient.
The Brass or Edwardian era lasted from 1905 to 1918. Many vehicles used brass. It was filled with
experimentation. The Stanley Steamer ran over 120 mph. Panhard et Levassor's Système Panhard was
widely licensed and adopted that recognizable and standardized automobiles were created. This system
specified front-engined, rear-wheel drive internal combustion engined cars with a sliding gear
transmission. Traditional coach-style vehicles were rapidly abandoned, and buckboard runabouts lost
favor with the introduction of tonneaus and other less-expensive touring bodies. The Model T was in
existence. The ignition system was popularized. Key developments included the electric ignition
system (by dynamotor on the Arnold in 1898, though Robert Bosch, 1903, tends to get the credit),
independent suspension (actually conceived by Bollée in 1873), and four-wheel brakes (by the Arrol-
Johnston Company of Scotland in 1909). Leaf springs were widely used for suspension, though many
other systems were still in use, with angle steel taking over from armored wood as the frame material
of choice. Transmissions and throttle controls were widely adopted, allowing a variety of cruising
speeds, though vehicles generally still had discrete speed settings, rather than the infinitely variable
system familiar in cars of later eras. Safety glass also made its debut, patented by John Wood in
England in 1905. (It would not become a standard equipment used by many until 1926, on a
Rickenbacker). Car companies in America, Europe, and Japan (with its Mitsubishi Model A which
was made by Mitsubishi) flourished.

The Vintage era lasted from 1918 (or the end of World War II) to the end of 1929 (with the Wall
Street crash). This era saw cars like the 1926 Bugatti Type 35, the 1929 Austin Seven, and the 1929
Alfo Romeo 6C. This time saw the front engine car dominating society and standardized controls
being the norm. In 1919, 90% of cars sold were open and by 1929, 90% were closed. Rapidly, there
was the development of the internal combustion engine. There were multi-valve and overhead
camshaft engines were produced at the high end. This time saw V8, V12, and even V16 engines. They
were used by mostly the super-rich. Also in 1919, hydraulic brakes were invented by Malcolm
Loughead (co-founder of Lockheed); they were adopted by Duesenberg for their 1921 Model A. Three
years later, Hermann Rieseler of Vulcan Motor invented the first automatic transmission, which had
two-speed planetary gearbox, torque converter, and lockup clutch; it never entered production. (It
would only become an available option in 1940). Just at the end of the vintage era, tempered glass
(now standard equipment in side windows) was invented in France.

The revolutionary ponton design of cars with lenders, running boards, and other non-compact ledge
elements were created. Mass production of these cars started after WWII. American auto companies
in the 1920s expected they would soon sell six million cars a year, but did not do so until 1955.
Numerous companies disappeared. Between 1922 and 1925, the number of U.S. passenger car
builders decreased from 175 to 70. H. A. Tarantous, managing editor of "MoToR Member Society of
Automotive Engineers", in a New York Times article from 1925, suggested many were unable to raise
production and cope with falling prices (due to assembly line production), especially for low-priced
cars. The new pyroxylin-based paints, eight cylinder engine, four wheel brakes, and balloon tires as the
biggest trends for 1925. The prewar era of cars was from 1930 to after World War II. This time saw
saloon or sedan body styles. There were runabouts, phaetons, and touring cars. There was the front
wheel drive being introduced by Andre Citroen. In the same vein, independent suspension was
originally conceived by Amédée Bollée in 1873, but not put in production until appearing on the low-
volume Mercedes-Benz 380 in 1933, which prodded American makers to use it more widely. In 1930,
the number of auto manufacturers declined sharply as the industry consolidated and matured, thanks
in part to the effects of the Great Depression.
 New Designs
After World War II, the change in automobile design was apparent. There was the popularization of
the ponton style. This was when running boards were gone and fenders were incorporated into the
body. Some of the early examples of this style were the Soviet GAZ-M20 Pobeda (1946), British
Standard Vanguard (1947), United States Studebaker Champion and Kaiser (1946), as well as the low-
production Czech luxury Tatra T600 Tatraplan (1946) and the Italian Cisitalia 220 sports car (1947).
New innovations about automobile design and production came about in 1949. America saw the
introduction of high compression V8 engines and modern bodies from General Motors Oldsmobile
and Cadillac brands. Hudson introduced the step down design with the 1948 Commodore. That
placed the passenger compartment down inside the perimeter of the frame that was one of the first
new design postwar cars made and feature the trend setting slab side styling. The unibody/strut
suspended 1951 Ford Consel joined the 1948 Morris Monitor and 1949 Rover P4 in the automobile
market in the United Kingdom. In Italy, Enzo Ferrari was starting his 250 series, just as Lancia
introduced the revolutionary V6 Aurelia.

During the 1950’s, engine power and vehicle speeds increased. Designs became more integrated and
artful. Automobiles were marketed internationally. Alec Issigonis' Mini and Fiat's 500 diminutive cars
were introduced in Europe, while the similar kei car class became popular in Japan. The Volkswagen
Beetle continued production after Hitler's evil reign and began exports to other nations, including the
United States. At the same time, Nash introduced the Nash Rambler, the first successful modern
compact car made in the United States, while the standard models produced by the "Big Three"
domestic automakers grew ever larger in size, featuring increasing amounts of chrome trim, and luxury
was exemplified by the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. The markets in Europe expanded with new
small-sized automobiles, as well as expensive grand tourers (GT), like the Ferrari America.
The car market changed a greatly in the 1960’s. The United States “Big three” automakers started to
face more competition from imported cars. The European makers adopted advanced technologies,
and Japan emerged as a car producing nation. Japanese
companies started to export some of their more popular selling
cars in Japan internationally. They include the Toyota Corolla,
Toyota Corona, Nissan Sunny, and Nissan Bluebird in the mid-
1960’s. The success of American Motors’ compact sized Rambler
models spurred GM and Ford to introduce their own downsized
cars in 1960. The United States saw the focus of marketing in
dealing with performance engines. That is why muscle cars
became popular. In 1964, the Ford Mustang developed a new Honda Accord
market segment of the pony car. New models to compete with
the Mustang were the Chevrolet Camaro, AMC Javelin, and
Plymouth Barracuda. Captive imports and badge engineering
increased in American and the UK as amalgamated groups like
British Motor Corporations consolidated the market. BMC’s Nissan Altima
space saving and trend setting transverse engine front wheel
drive, independent suspension, and monocoque bodied Mini,
which first appeared in 1959. This was marketed under the
Austin and Morris names. Mini was a marque on its own right in
1969. It was marketed under the Austin and Morris names. Chevrolet Impala
Competition increased. The Studebaker came about which was a
pioneering automaker that was shutting down. There was more
consolidation with the Maserati, Ferrari, and Lancia in Italy.
They were acquired by larger companies.
Honda Civic
By the end of the 1960’s, the number of automobile marquees had been reduced. Technology
developments included the widespread use of independent suspensions, wider application of fuel
injection, and an increasing focus on safety in automotive design. Innovations during the 1960s
included NSU's Wankel engine, the gas turbine, and the turbocharger. Of these, the only the last
endured, pioneered by General Motors, and adopted by BMW and Saab, later seeing mass-market use
during the 1980s by Chrysler. Mazda continued developing its Wankel engine, in spite of problems in
longevity, emissions, and fuel economy. Other Wankel licensees, including Mercedes-Benz and GM,
never put their designs into production because of engineering and manufacturing problems, as well
as the lessons from the 1973 oil crisis. The 1970’s was a unique decade for cars, because of the 1973
oil crisis, the stricter automobile emissions controls, and new safety requirements. So, more exports
came by Japanese and European automakers. There was the growth of inflation and the stagnant
economic conditions in many nations. Smaller-sized cars grew in popularity. The United States saw
the establishment of the subcompact segment with the introduction of the AMC Gremlin, followed
by the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto. The station wagons (estate, break, kombi, universal) body
design was popular, as well as increasing sales of non-commercial all-wheel drive off-road vehicles. To
the end of the 20th century, the United States Big Three (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) partially lost their
leading position, Japan became for a while the world's leader of car production and cars began to be
mass manufactured in new Asian, East European, and other countries. This era saw the Porsche, the
Subaru 1000, and other designs.

Detroit, Michigan is known for it being one epicenter of automotive culture. For generations, millions of
cars have been built in this great city along with workers fighting for economic rights via strikes and various
movements for social change. Car museums and the GM showroom are commonplace. Fashion, music, the
arts in general, the residents, and other cultural components define the excellence found in Detroit. The
source of the photograph is from Michael Tighe.
 The 21st Century
The modern era of automobile is all about new technologies and new developments. This era has
been around for 40 years. Today, cars have standardization platform sharing, computer aided design,
etc. to reduce costs and development time. There are more usage of electronics for both engine
management and entertainment systems. Some particular contemporary developments are the
proliferation of front- and all-wheel drive, the adoption of the diesel engine, and the ubiquity of fuel
injection. Most modern passenger cars are front-wheel-drive monocoque or unibody designs, with
transversely mounted engines. Body styles have changed as well in the modern era. Three types, the
hatchback, sedan, and sport utility vehicle dominate today's market. All originally emphasized
practicality, but have mutated into today's high-powered luxury crossover SUV, sports wagon and two-
volume Large MPV. The rise of pickup trucks in the United States and SUVs worldwide has changed
the face of motoring with these "trucks" coming to command more than half of the world automobile
market. There was also the introduction of the MPV class (smaller non-commercial passenger
minivans), among the first of which were the French Renault Espace and the Chrysler minivan
versions in the United States. More cars now have improved fuel efficiency and engine output. People
talk about automobile emission concerns.
 GREAT AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEER (b.
1969)
Alicia Boler-Davis
“There were not a lot of people
who looked like me, but that
didn’t mean I couldn’t do it.”
-Alicia Boler-Davis
Intro
She is a woman who has made
outstanding accomplishments,
and she is one of the unsung
heroes of the automotive
movement. She was born and
raised in the Midwest. During her
childhood, Alicia Boler Davis
fixed broken items around the
house. She grew up with her
mother Denise and 3 siblings. She
worked at a high school program
at the General Motors Institute.
Also, she earned her bachelor’s
degree in chemical engineering at
Northwestern University.
Her Early Career
Alicia Boler-Davis joined General
Motors as a manufacturing
engineer in 1994. She was plant
manager at the Michigan Orion
Assembly facility. She was the first
black woman to become a plant
manager. She also led the plant at
Pontiac Stamping.
Further Excellence
Alicia Boler- Davis was appointed
Vice President of Customer
Experience at General Motors in
2011. She was promoted to
Senior Vice President for Global
Customer Experience in 2013.
Also, she was part of the Forbes’
Most Powerful Women Next Gen
Summit in 2014. She also spoke
at the University of California,
Berkeley Haas School of Business.
In 2016, she led 180,000
employees as Executive Vice
President of global
manufacturing. In 2017, she
joined the board of Beaumont
Health. Boler Davis was the sixth
woman to be named Black
Engineer of the Year in 2018. To
this day, she mentors women in
career building. Boler-Davis works
as the Executive Liaison for GM
Women Leadership board. Her
awards include 2018 Business
Insider Most Powerful Female
Engineers in the World, 2016
Trumpet Awards Corporate
Executive of the Year, and 2013
Women of Color Magazine
Technologist of the Year.
This image above was from 2014,
when Alicia Boler-Davis (as Senior
Vice President of Global Connected
Customer Experience) at General
Motors was interviewed by
Fortune’s Beth Kowitt.
The Legacy of a Great Woman
Alicia Boler-Davis has worked for
GM and now she is joining
Amazon. Her story is a story of
perseverance. Never let anyone
tell you that you can’t do
anything. We have the right to
achieve greatness in a legitimate,
positive fashion. She earned her
Master’s degree in Engineering
Science from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute and an MBA
from Indiana University. She is a
mother with a family. The joy of
automotive innovation is
represented by her life story.
Alicia Boler-Davis is to the right
talking about automobiles and
other important issues.
 General Motors is a multinational
corporation headquarters in
Detroit. It manufactures, markets,
and distributes vehicles globally. Its
headquarters is in Detroit. It was
originally founded by William C.
Durant on September 16, 1908. It is
the largest American automobile
manufacturers and one of the
world’s largest.
Chrysler is based in Auburn Hills,
Michigan. It was founded by
Walter Chrysler in 1925. By the
2020’s, Chrysler is promoting
the Chrysler Pacifica, the
Chrysler 300, and the Chrysler
Voyager. Its Chairman is John
Elkann and its CEO is Michael
Manley. It has about 90,000
employees as of 2019.
I always see commercials with
many people in dealing with the
Ford Motor Company. The Ford
Motor Company is headquartered
at Dearborn, Michigan, which is a
suburb of Detroit. Ford is the 2nd
largest U.S. based automaker, and
it is world famous. When you
think about American culture, you
think about Ford. Kellee Edwards
is a world traveler and a great
person too.

There are computerized engine management systems. The financial crisis of 2007–2008 cut almost a
third of light vehicle sales from Chrysler, Toyota, Ford, and Nissan. It also subtracted about a fourth
of Honda's sales and about a seventh of sales from General Motors. Since 2009, China has become
the world's largest car manufacturer with production greater than Japan, the United States, and all of
Europe. Besides large growth of car production in Asian and other countries, there has been growth
in transnational corporate groups, with the production of transnational automobiles sharing the same
platforms as well as badge engineering or re-badging to suit different markets and consumer segments.
Since the end of the 20th century, several award competitions for cars and trucks have become widely
known, such as European Car of the Year, Car of the Year Japan, North American Car of the Year,
World Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, and International Car of the Year. Also, a Car of the
Century award was held in which in the US the Ford Model T was named as most influential car of
the 20th century. The Telsa Roadster is an example of a modern car being all-electric. The Telsa
Model S was a famous plug in electric vehicle. Hybrids are commonplace too.
 The Future of Automobiles
The future of the car is developing now. During the 21st century, researchers and engineers are
constantly experimenting to develop the best future cars available for human beings. Back in 1901,
many people used horses and buggies. Now, in the time of the 21st century, we have new innovations
flourishing all over the place. In the future, more cars will have Alexa-like personal assistant systems.
In other words, a person is driving, and you can say commands to allow the vehicle to navigate into
certain locations. There will be more map options or navigational maps in vehicles. There will be
displays of safe routes and other scenic imagery. Custom designed vehicles with 3D printing
technology are a reality now, and it will continue in the future. The Arizona based Local Motors is 3D
printing cars. They use engines and 3D print cars on top of the engines. Some cars will use brain wave
technology to control vehicles. Many future cars will help diagnose their own mechanical problems.
The existence of autonomous vehicles will grow too. Ford is trying to use technology to monitor
health from the driver’s seat. Ford already has an electrocardiography reading device that can monitor
heart function via sensors in the seat that don’t need to touch the skin in order to function. In the
future, technology can monitor glucose levels of people with diabetes. This technology can help
people in the car. Some vehicles have augmented reality dashboards. Later, new cars will have them.
These devices can project speed and improve the vision of people. Smart dashboards are the wave of
the future.

By Timothy